Air Quality and Environmental Justice:
An Analysis of Air Pollution and Wealth Distribution

George Strebel and Gordon Young

Geographic focus: USA / Houston metropolitan area

Date completed: 2002

The greater Houston metropolitan area has come under intense scrutiny in the past decade due to its heavy amount of dangerous air pollution. Amidst concerns over air quality, the issue of environmental justice has been raised. Two students at Texas State University – San Marcos created a series of maps comparing the relationship of wealth to industrial sites and ground-level ozone to determine how distribution of particulate air pollutants correlates with median household income across the greater Houston metropolitan area. The students’ statistical analysis showed a direct correlation between household income and proximity to industrial facilities, but they found no relationship between spatial distribution of actual pollutants and household income.